New Treatment for Writers’ Block

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From Dave Farland:

A few months ago, my son Forrest came to me to talk about a new treatment for writers’ block. As you may know, Forrest has been studying neuro-linguistic programming for several years and has been using it and other techniques to help writers overcome writers’ block and increase productivity.

He explained a therapy called TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) that has been developed for people who suffer from depression and anxiety, a treatment that doesn’t require medication but instead stimulates the brain using magnetic waves.

The therapy is effective in about 70% of patients and is covered by insurance—so long as the patient has tried medications first. It’s even approved for people on Medicare. 

What intrigued me about TMS is that it was also being used elsewhere. Interestingly, the treatment has proven helpful for writers who suffer from classic “writers’ block.”

It’s also use by the military. They found that by stimulating the prefrontal lobes of soldiers, they could make them more aware of their surroundings and of possible ways to handle battlefield situations.

A couple of days after I first spoke with Forrest, an award-winning author who spoke to our Apex group mentioned that he had received TMS treatments to help with writers’ block. He said, “After getting the treatment, I wrote three books in the next six months. That’s never happened to me before. I just don’t write that fast.”

Link to the rest at Dave Farland